We phound Phred!!

On Day Four we arrived in Hudson, NH at the home of Phred and Candy, our boathouse neighbors in Marathon during the past tthree winters.  We were able to park in their driveway (much to the chagrin of their neighbors and property owners' association) and spent the first evening getting fur fixes from kitties Jake, Sassy and Spencer and catching up with Phred and Candy.  The next day we drove into Boston to visit Faneuil Hall and the bar which inspired Cheers.  Unfortunately the weather was uncooperative, so our photos aren't the best and our tour was abbreviated, but as a native of Boston Phred made a great tour guide and driver.  The Mayberries were touring the upper right hand corner as well, so their truck was in Boston and we "borrowed" it while they were gone for a few days since we couldn't all four fit on the scooter or in Phred and Candy's Miata.  Phred demonstrated his skills as a parallel parker when he parked with parallel parked in a space slightly smaller than the truck.   We sent William a photo of his truck as well as his keys on the bar in Cheers so he'd know they were having fun while he and Judy were gone.

chowda!

Jay and Phred directionally challenged?

Candy and I found the perfect man!

very interesting buildings with no space wasted on corners

there's plenty of room!

can you hear the theme song?

Norm loaned Phred his stool

After touring Boston, we stopped to purchase a lobster for dinner.  The girls waited in the truck (since we were locked into the back seat) for the guys to return with a HUGE lobster.  It was 6 pounds, and after the steaming it weighed at least a hundred.  Needless to say, there was a FEAST that night!  Phred and Candy would make good survivalists (and they do love the show!), because they know how to get every smidgen of meat off a lobster.  The next morning we hit Sam's for restocking and gas, then headed for North Conway to join Bob and Mary at their condo.

now THAT's a mongo lobstah!

somebody has to work in the kitchen

It was a gorgeous drive to North Conway, and we were impressed with the huge farms and homes we passed.  One distinct feature was the massive garages.  I guess if you have to have snowmobiles and plows and tractors in addition to a 4WD vehicle or two, you need to keep them warm enough to run.  Lots of the homes looked like they'd started as maybe 2-3 bedrooms, then grew over time to look like dormitories.  After asking around and mulling it over, we decided that with the need for more farm hands (and unsophisticated birth control) most of the families grew to be very large.  I imagine that about every year Emmaline would wake up Lemuel and say, "get the saltines and hie thee to Home Depot."  Or something like that.  Lake Winnepasauka was beautiful, and I'm sure we saw the entire cast of 'On Golden Pond' smiling as we passed by.

we live in a space smaller than this!

keep on adding

fertile family!

Road Trip!!

We've never explored the upper right-hand corner of the U.S, so since we have this RV, we might as well use it, right?  Friends Bob and Mary invited us to join them for a week in New Hampshire in September, so we decided to do some sightseeing on the way to and from.  We've made so many good friends while cruising on Serendipity, and we decided to scare them and visit them at home.  We started the journey by stopping in Johnson City for an overnighter with Rusty and Nancy (who were probably the most terrified, since we dropped by for a night or two several years ago and stayed 3 months).  We then spent a gorgeous day traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway.  What amazing scenery!  It's so beautiful that it doesn't look real -- yet another one of many sights far too beautiful to capture on film (but we keep trying).

overcast, but still beautiful

our home and our car

don't lean back!

We spent the night in Waynesborough Virginia, in a campground absolutely packed with visitors -- and some who looked like permanent residents, with porches, hot tubs(!), portable garages, outdoor rooms, underpinning, driveways, landscaping, flagpoles, etc.  It's a whole different culture than cruising, but similar in that it has its own "rules" and a distinct (that is NOT my tongue in my cheek!!) community of travelers.

Day Two was spent traveling north to Hershey, Pennsylvania.  We drove in 4 states in an hour's time!  The countryside through Virginia and Pennsylvania (our time in West Virginia and Maryland were far too brief to record) is absolutely gorgeous -- apparently the drought was restricted to the farmland further south, because the countryside was lush and green and the farms absolutely HUGE.  The farm structures are much larger than the homes, and the homes are quite impressive themselves.  We visited the Hershey factory, getting a personal look at all the goodies.  We were impressed to learn how much Hershey himself impacted the community.  He built a whole village for the workers at the Hershey factory, including recreation, shopping, schools, and health care facilities.  He endowed the city with funds so it could continue to thrive, and also provided for scholarship education at the Hershey School for children in need, to continue in perpetuity.

YUM

Night two was spent at a park in PA whose amenities may have been slightly exaggerated in the writeups.  Unlike the VA park, it was almost empty (of course Labor Day would be over in a few hours).  The decorations at the office/store were unique, and reminded us that redneckedness (new sniglet; NOT to be confused with red nakedness) isn't confined to the deep south.  We would've liked to visit the Amish settlements, but weather was headed our way that made us hurry north.  Hurricane Irene had already blistered the land, and heavy rains were on the way again.

very convenient

Day Three saw us hurtling (this isn't a Miata) through four states also (PA, NJ, NY, CT), and we spent several hours traveling about 20 miles.  We didn't know the George Washington Bridge and the Bronx would be backed up at 2:00 in the afternoon....but we do now!  We arrived in Norwalk CT to overnight at WalMart.  This was the first time we'd ever slept at WalMart, and we highly recommend it.  WalMart and Sam's Club offer free overnights in their parking lots, and it's very convenient to have anything you might need just a few yards away.  We also found some rest areas that offer free overnights as well as pumpouts and water.  Sweet!

Home again, home again

We had our plates full before we arrived in Tennessee -- rental property on the farm needed renovating (re-renovating); our son and daughter-in-law needed some help on their home in Chattanooga, and our rental property needed some repairs after hail storms this spring.  What a way to jump back into the fray after months spent cruising the Bahamas!  Which one is real life??
We stopped through Georgia to see our grandbabies Madison and Micah (oh yes, and their parents Julie and Lake); we stopped through Chattanooga to see our youngest son and his wife (Jesse and Brittany); we arrived on the farm to see my Mom and our oldest son John (and our kitty Gabby); and we've visited some long-time friends.  It's VERY different from the first few months of 2011, but it's fun to see everyone and to git 'er done in TN. We didn't get to see all the people and places we would've liked, but we accomplished a lot. 

Georgia today, Hollywood tomorrow

Biker babe

Gabby posing

John beginning the demo in Chattanooga

Jay and Jesse trying to stop the wind tunnel around the front door

demo complete!

demo complete!

a shower feels SO good after demolition!

Bryce and Sue

Bob and Mary

Lynn and Jerry

goldfish races!!

We got the RV out of storage, then decided we should buy it a scooter.  We qualify for either Old Coots on Scoots or, as John's friend put it, Born to be Mild.  Jay decided to get his license before we took the scooter on the road, so he began what became an arduous process....you can't use your vehicle license as ID for a scooter license; you have to use your birth certificate.  To get a birth certificate, you use your vehicle license (??).  Our passports and birth certificates were on the boat in Florida, so Jay had to get a new one at the local health department.  However, they only have birth certificates for people born 1949 or later.  SOOO....send off to Nashville and wait.  In the meantime, you can take the written test.  But not the driving part because they're backed up for weeks and months.  Your tax dollars are hard at work!!

Head 'em up and move 'em out

like a big fish out of water

We like Titusville and Westland, especially the new and improved version, but we've been busy dismantling Serendipity before she goes onto the hard.  We've picked our spot (with maybe enough room beside it to park the RV while we're repainting the bottom); we're stripping the boat (some stuff goes with us, some needs to be stored while we're gone, some needs to be stowed below decks; some needs to just disappear); and trying to remember what you take when you're going to be on land for a while.  Clothes?  Sunscreen?  Pasta?  Paper towels?  Panties and wine?  We don't remember; it's been six months!

washing her little bottom before she goes on the pedestals

hurry with the covers!  see those clouds??

We had time for a quick visit with George and Terry in Port Canaveral, enjoying a great dinner and overnight at their home before we picked up the rental car to head for Georgia to see the grandbabies then on to Tennessee..

seen through wine-colored glasses

O beautiful for spacious skies.....

It's hard to believe our latest adventure is over, but we're anxious to check up on the family, spoil the grandkids some, and drive on the right side of the road.  We arrived in Ft. Pierce around 10 a.m. and continued north on the ICW (where's that gorgeous aqua water??) to Vero Beach and the marina (AIR CONDITIONING!!).  The Captain got the spare alternator rebuilt, bought 6 new golf cart batteries (his allowance is already gone for the year), and got in touch with Captain Wade (remember his butt on the bucket during the teak work?) to make arrangements for repairing the compression post.  After a bus trip for some reprovisioning, we called Westland Marine in Titusville to arrange for putting the boat on the hard for new bottom paint and the repair. 

The ICW is quite a change from tootling around the islands, not only for the huge homes but also for the water traffic.  One of the bridges had a work barge parked right in the middle; it looked close, but then the tops always do too.  We timed our trip to Westland carefully, because we had to get through the bascule bridge before it closed for rush hour traffic (which would require us to maintain a holding pattern in the wind-less HOT waterway while we waited).  Our engineers and accountants figured and ciphered till we got to the bridge, confident that we'd made good time.  Imagine our surprise when we found a new high-rise bridge, which required no opening!  The cruising guides haven't recorded it yet (as of 2011), but it was no mirage.  We were also surprised at Westland, since the other times we've been here it was a true working yard with a tiny, dark bathroom/shower facility, an office in a trailer, and no laundry (we had to sneak over the fence to the city marina).  This time we found a huge new facility with large, clean tiled bath/showers, a laundry room, a big lounge with TV, wi-fi and small kitchenette, and new offices. Very nice!

the flanking jet skis look like police escorts for Summer Wind

move that barge!!

the bridge is tall enough now

Neptune welcomes us to Titusville

Westland Marina

We visited our favorite wi-fi spot and bakery from previous trips, Sunrise Bakery, for breakfast, then showed Rusty and Nancy a bit of Titusville (doesn't take long).  Later we called George and Terry, friends from Serendipity's first voyage to the Bahamas, and they picked up Summer Wind and Serendipity's crews for a dinner and swim at their gorgeous home in Cape Canaveral. We caught up on our travels and made plans to spend the night with them as we head out of Florida.

the gang at...where else?....the bar

would you ever leave this lanai??

George, our cook

a.k.a. The Naked Chef

George and Terry in their beautiful kitchen

The saga continues with renting a rental car to pick up a rental car, taking down the sails, stowing the dinghy, removing canvas and covering the boat for its haulout, unloading food/clothes/electronics for the trip to Tennessee, and burning up in the heat!  Summer Wind has left us, headed north for New Bern so they can visit their kids and grandkids and check on their house in Tennessee.  Another chapter is ending....

goodbye to Summer Wind

they're outta here!

Ponderings

Remembering our adventures (with the help of lots of photos) is so much fun, and it's been quite a journey.  This is the first time we've visited both the Exumas and Abacos in the same trip, and we were surprised at the differences.  The people of the Exumas seem to be a little hesitant at first, but so very warm when they decide you're okay.  The hesitancy may be because of the old black/white issues, or it may be because so many tourists have misbehaved that they're suspicious.  The people of the Abacos, a little less hesitant but never quite warming up as much, are very British in demeanor and very polite.  The children both places, without exception, are so well behaved and well mannered.  They always look immaculate in their school uniforms, even at the end of the day (how do they DO that???), and whenever you see them they always say either good morning, good day, or good afternoon, followed by madam or sir.  The gentlemen and young men in the Abacos (especially in Marsh Harbour) say "my lady."  Sigh, swoon.  We sincerely hope tourists don't change these gentle people and their customs and habitat.  They may not have as much materially as some of us, but they're doing fine without it.  Both places are beautiful and we're delighted to have visited them, but our tastes tend more toward the more rustic Exuma Islands.  We definitely plan to return to the Exumas (come join us!), and would like to return as givers rather than takers; we plan to deliver more schoolbooks and would like to contribute in other ways (to be determined).

Mangrove Cay

Our next day was HOT HOTTER HOTTEST.  We made it to Mangrove on smooth, crystal clear water and dropped the hook.  We decided to leave around lunchtime the next day so we could prepare the boat for our crossing and also arrive at the anchorage in the cooler evening rather than the hot afternoon.  The Captain tightened all the rigging, checked the water in the batteries (which were misbehaving a bit even after the replacement alternator was in), checked other fluids, and we lashed everything down since the wind was picking up (defying all predictions).  We left as planned, with the contingency that if the wind didn't die down we would bypass Memory Rock as our last anchorage and continue overnight to the States.  When we passed Memory Rock we were rocking and rolling and figured if we were going to rock and roll anyway we might as well be making headway on our journey.  Thankfully we'd already made the travel preparations for our crossing, so we hunkered down for an overnighter.  We had good wind for the Genoa, but couldn't use the main because of the loose and shaky mast rigging.  We also had to turn on the engine periodically to charge the batteries (but had to keep an eye on them to keep them from overcharging).  Soooooooo, about 22 hours later and with very little sleep, we arrived in the U.S.  But we had a beautiful full moon, very little traffic, and no casualties with either crew or boat contents.

our travel beacon

lookin pretty scary after an all-nighter

land ho (I think she's on the beach)

the homes are a teeny bit different than the ones in the Bahamas